


Song of Songs: Laar’riduur

by Trudemaethien



Category: Christian Bible (Old Testament), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Basically a loveletter, Bibleslash, Biblical Song of Solomon, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Love Letters, M/M, Order 66 Happened Differently (Star Wars), References to Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), They/Them pronouns for Commander Cody, Very Small Angst, Yes the actual Bible is actually this racy, codywan - Freeform, compliments, less angst than canon, sweet nothings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trudemaethien/pseuds/Trudemaethien
Summary: King Solomon and his Bride?How about Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Cody, instead?A love story for the ages.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Kudos: 26





	Song of Songs: Laar’riduur

**Author's Note:**

> I woke up one morning to a note scribbled in my own handwriting that I don’t remember making.  
> It said:  
> codywan song of solomon  
> ...and I could not have agreed faster. 
> 
> Fair warning: In the Bible version, Solomon calls his fiancée “my sister, my bride” quite often. Based on what we see of clone culture, it doesn’t make sense to me that they would have a taboo about ‘incestuous’ relationships between clones. I’ve made the decision to leave the sibling references in (Cody and Obi-Wan refer to each other as vod). If this offends, click away!  
> I tried to balance the archaic poetry of the original with the voices and background details of the characters. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Cody: 

I went down to the barracks

to inspect the rosters and storerooms,

to see whether the shinies had arrived,

whether the degenerates were pranking.

Before I was aware, my desire sent me

among the LAAT/i’s of my venator, a Jedi:

one glimpse and my breath left me. 

Oh! Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your love is sweeter than all else in existence,

your Force presence swoops about me,

your regard is powerful and pleasing;

Every trooper worships you, but you choose me.

Draw me to you; let us spar. 

Come, Jetii, bring me into your quarters. 

While my Jetii was in his quarters 

I felt his heart beating against my own. 

My beloved is a hand-clasp to my neck,

a protective saber at my back,

eyn mirsh’mure’cye. 

My beloved is to me the most vibrant twining blossom

among all the green beauty of Naboo. 

Obi-Wan:

Behold, you are beautiful, my love,

behold, you are ori’meshla!

Your eyes are keen and golden

beneath your dark t-visor. 

Your hair curls when it grows overlong,

I hoard memories of its velvet texture 

on my fingertips

Your smile is reserved for the rarest occasions; 

a most valuable view, like Jorallan opal, 

shining like the many moons of Iego.

Your lips are like a russet tapestry

and your mouth is full and lovely.

Your beloved face waits for me

under painted bucket, equally dear to my eyes. 

You stand tall as the Temple Spire,

if it had been built of ruddy bronze stone

And on it had hung a thousand shields,

all of them the shields of warriors.

Your muscles ripple and flex as you work,

smooth as the calm sea 

and as strong as cabled beskar. 

Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I think of you every moment we are apart

and come back together again. 

You are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no flaw in you.

Come with me from Kamino, ven’riduur;

come with me from this watery world.

Depart from the halls of Tipoca,

from Teth and Umbara

From the Citadel,

from Ryloth, Mandalore, and Anaxes. 

You have captivated my heart, vod, ner’riduur;

you captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one lethally armored kick. 

How beautiful is your love, vod, ner’riduur!

How much better is your love than meditation,

the warmth of your embrace than any mantra!

Cody: 

Oh that you were as vod to me and my brothers,

aliit, trained beside one another!

If we found you first, we would have kept you,

and none would despise us.

I would lead you and bring you

into the embrace of our army—

Vod’e an, mhi darasuum.

I would hold you close to me and kiss you,

give you everything that I am.

Vod’e:

We strive to attain as you have, our highest exemplar;

we call your name Kote, glorious shab’la ori’vod;

rightly do we love you.

Cody:

I am very dark, but lovely,

O Jedi of the Coruscant Temple,

Like the storms of Kamino,

like the shadows of Geonosis.

Do not stare at me because I am cloned, 

because I was decanted and not nat-born.

Your senators were displeased with me;

they delegated upon me armies of men,

yet did not allow me to preserve their lives!

Tell me, you whom my soul loves,

where did you learn military strategy,

what war taught you the tactics you use now for us;

Why should I feel the need to hide beneath my bucket,

like those who hide themselves within

the veneer of emotionless Jedi civility?

Obi-Wan:

You do not know, yet,

O most beautiful among eyayade,

But just follow me into battle,

lead your aliit, battalions of brothers

alongside our GAR tanks. 

I compare you, my love,

to a starfighter: aerodynamic, swift and deadly,

yet you soar higher than any machine. 

Your painted designs are lovely with meaning,

your scars show what you have survived. 

Cody:

Who is that returning from desperate battle

wreathed in plumes of destruction, 

stepping over heaps of cooling droids?

Behold, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi!

At his right hand stalks Knight Skywalker

Chosen One of the Force

green lightsaber strapped to his hip;

At his left, brilliant Padawan Ahsoka Tano 

armed with two sabers for Jar Kai.

Three who stand against the Sith. 

Kenobi earned himself a loyal army

from the Kaminoan “units”

He saw vod’e, not slaves,

our individuality, our worth. 

Our bonds were forged with love and death

by the war none of us desired. 

Come out, O Councillors of Coruscant,

and look upon our General Kenobi,

See the blue of his lightsaber with which he defeats all foes?

on the day of his victory,

on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Obi-Wan:

Behold, you are beautiful, my love;

behold, you are so mesh’la;

a hardened soldier with such soft eyes.

Cody:

Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful to me. 

Our quarters ajoin, filled with things we own, not issued;

the Negotiator is our home,

together we have made it a safe place to rest. 

I was made for you and you waited for me,

we are for each other in every way. 

(I adjure you, O Knights of the Temple

that you do not stir up or awaken love

until you know what it is like to love.)

Vod’e:

We will make you bracers of beskar,

armed with be’senaar.

Cody:

As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my beloved among the Generals.

With great delight I leant against you

and when you fed me fruit, I tasted sweetness for the first time. 

You encouraged me to try flavors and ideas alike

and shared equally with me your command authority

Sustain me with rations,

but refresh me with your apples,

for I am weak with love for you. 

Your left hand is under my head,

and your right hand embraces me. 

Obi-Wan:

As a golden orchid in a wildflower field,

so are you, ner’cyare, out of all the vod’e. 

Cody:

In my bunk by night

I sought him whom my soul loves;

I sought him, but found him not.

I will rise now and go about the ship,

in the mess and in the salles;

I will seek him whom my soul loves.

I sought him, but found him not.

The nightshift watched me

as they went about their duties.

“Last known location of my General?”

“Unknown, sir.”

Scarcely had I left the bridge 

when I found him whom my soul loves.

I held him, and did not let him go

until I had him back to our quarters,

and into our assigned bunks together. 

(I adjure you, O Jedi Order,

by all that you hold sacrosanct,

that you do not stir up or awaken love

unless it may be reciprocated freely.)

Obi-Wan:

The Thousand Fountains pale beside you,

Your lips drip nectar, ner’cyare;

honey and milk are under your tongue;

the allure of your gesture is stronger than a jedi mind trick. 

A garden locked are you, my darling riduur,

a spring locked, a fountain sealed.

You grow an orchard of pomegranates

with all choicest fruits,

henna with dasse,

Dasse and saffron, triklonna and cinnallin,

with all trees of assari

Myrrh and ushral,

with all choice spices—

A garden fountain, a well of living water,

and flowing streams like plasma from Naboo.

Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my garden,

let its spices flow

Together in our Garden. 

Cody: 

Let my beloved come to this garden,

and eat the choicest fruits.

Obi-wan:

I came to my garden, vod, ner’riduur,

I gathered my myrrh with my spice,

I ate my honeycomb with my honey,

I drank my wine with my milk.

Vod’e:

Eat, friends, drink,

and be drunk with love!

Cody:

The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes,

leaping over mountains,

bounding over the hills.

My beloved destroys droids by the legion

he fights like a graceful acklay

Behold, there he stands

upon our barricade,

Gazing through the smoke,

looking over the battlefield. 

My cyare speaks and says to me:

Obi-wan:

Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away,

For behold, the siege is past;

the war will be over soon and won.

Barren ground has been drenched,

new flowers will grow from our sacrifice.

The time of aay’han is next

and the echoes of vod’e singing

will sound through our land.

The harvest will ripen in the fields

and bees flit among the blossoms;

that give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away.

O my love, in the clefts of the rock,

in the crannies of the cliff,

Let me see your face,

let me hear your voice,

For your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

Cody:

My beloved is mine, and I am his;

we shall tread together among the trees.

Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

Turn, riduur, climb like a vulptex,

or a varactyl on the mountainside.

Catch the foxes for us, 

the little foxes

That spoil the vineyards 

and the grapes for the wine we will age,

to toast our victory and our grief. 

Cody:

I slept, dreaming, but my heart was awake.

A sound! My beloved is knocking.

“Open to me, vod, ner’riduur,

my commander, my darling,

for my head is wet with dew,

my locks with the drops of the night.”

I had removed my armor;

how could I latch it back upon myself?

I had dropped my kute to the ground,

how could I pull it back on?

My beloved laid his hand on the scan lock,

and my heart thrilled within me.

I arose to open to my beloved,

and my hands shook with anticipation,

My fingers with hope,

to accept the lock code he entered. 

I opened to my beloved,

but-

“Execute Order 66”

-my beloved fell where I could not follow. 

My entire being failed me when he spoke.

I sought my free will, but found slave-bonds;

I called out, but no one heard my struggle. 

The chipped clones marched (and I)

as they went about that (our) campaign;

Clones attacked, blasters shot, and we wounded our own hearts,

I stripped off my armor, 

Laid myself bare, vulnerable to drugs and scalpel

and my troops likewise, to escape the chip. 

I beseech you, O survivors of the Purge. 

if you find my cyare,

That you tell him

Kote cuyi kair’ta, 

ni ceta. 

Jedi:

Who is your beloved, more than another beloved,

O strongest among millions-strong clones,

that you demand this of us?

Shall we break the code for merely this? 

Have you not betrayed him enough?

Cody:

My beloved is radiant and ruddy,

distinguished among ten thousand.

His head is the finest gold;

his locks are wavy,

bright as star-horizons. 

His eyes are like sapphires 

beneath streams of water,

Bathed in milk,

sitting beside a full pool.

His freckles are strewn like constellations,

everywhere on the galaxy of his skin. 

His lips are scarlet threads

flyting and dripping wit. 

His arms direct the flow of the Force

in his hands, saber flourishes. 

His body is polished ivory,

cloaked even in monk’s robes. 

His legs are alabaster columns,

relentless and firm. 

He strides like a storied warrior

words are his blades. 

His mouth is sweet and sharp,

and he is altogether desirable.

I love him more than anything,

even my own existence. 

He is my riduur and he is my burc’ya,

O Jedi of the Galaxy!

Vod’e:

Where has your beloved gone,

O most glorious among us?

Where has your beloved turned,

that we may seek him with you?

To atone for our betrayal of cuun’Jetii. 

Cody:

My beloved has gone far away

to the desert barren, burdened,

To meditate in the sand,

and to heal his own betrayal.

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine;

jii dar’tome, mhi su’solus.

(I adjure you, O Jedi Masters of Coruscant,

by your code and by my creed 

that you do not stir up or awaken love

unless you can bear the repercussions.)

Cody:

Who is that coming up from the wilderness,

leaning on their beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.

In the crèche you learned patience and kindness

there katas and koans you embodied. 

Set me as a seal upon your heart, beskarta

as aliit’gai upon your pauldron. 

For love is strong as death,

ardor is fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of flame,

the very energy of the Light side. 

Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

If a man offered for love

all the wealth in the galaxy,

he would be utterly despicable. 

Obi-wan:

You are beautiful as Scarif, my dear,

lovely as Alderaan

awesome as an army with banners.

Turn away your eyes from me,

for they overwhelm me—

Your hair curls softly, longer now

caressing your neck as my hands yearn to

Your smile still shines as brilliantly 

as all the moons of Iego. 

Now you have grown a beard; it suits you well, 

(and shall you mingle it with mine, ner’cyare?)

Your cheeks blush under my eyes 

like rosy dawn upon hills of rich loam. 

Among the batches of CCs and classes of ARCs,

CTs without number,

My commander, my dearest one, stands above,

the best reflection of the Template

to embody the ideal of their engineering. 

The ranks saw Kote and called them blessed;

the Commanders and Advanced Recon also, 

and they all revered this one. 

“Who is this who looks down like the dawn,

beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,

awesome as an army with banners?”

Cody:

Drink wine with me, my beloved,

It goes down smoothly for us two, riduure,

words of love gliding over the lips of we 

who lay down to sleep side by side. 

I am my beloved's,

and his desire is for me.

Come, my beloved,

let us go out into the fields

and lodge with my brothers;

Let us go out early to our vineyards

and see whether the vines have budded,

Whether the grape blossoms have opened

and the apple trees are in bloom.

There I will give you my love.

The hunters bring forth bounty,

and beside our doors are all choice fruits,

New as well as old,

which I have laid up for you, O Riddur.

Vod’e:

We had a precious ori’vod

and they were not meant for war. 

What shall we do for our vod

on the day when they must deploy?

If they are a wall,

we will build upon them battlements of beskar,

But if they are a door,

we will hold them with planes of transparisteel. 

Cody:

I was a wall,

without battlements upon it,

Then I became in his eyes as one 

who leaves behind war to find peace.

The Jedi had a vineyard at an old Temple. 

when they left the vineyard to other keepers,

wine from there became worth little. 

My vineyard, my very own, is before me;

you, Obi-wan Kenobi, may drink my wine. 

Drink deep and turn away from lesser vintages. 

Obi-wan:

O you who dwell in the wilderness,

with brothers listening for your voice;

let me hear you sing.

Cody:

Make haste, my beloved,

and run like a dewback,

Or a leaping varactyl,

come over the mountains

to be once again tome. 

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary of Mando’a terms  
> Laar’riduur- compound word made of song and spouse  
> Riduur- spouse, gender neutral  
> Riduure- spouses, plural  
> Ner’riduur- my spouse  
> Ven’riduur- (future indicator)spouse, betrothed, fiancé  
> Eyn- archaic/poetic article “a”  
> Mirsh’mure’cye- a mandalorian kiss, touching foreheads together  
> Mesh’la- beautiful  
> Ori’meshla- very/the most (superlative)beautiful  
> Vod- brother, comrade  
> Vod’e- brothers, plural. Also what the clones called themselves, instead of the somewhat demeaning “clones”  
> Ori’vod- big, older, eldest (superlative)brother  
> Aliit- family, tribe, clan  
> Vod’e an, mhi darasuum- “brothers all, we are eternally,” an approximation of a line from the clones’ most famous war chant, the Vod’e An  
> Kote- glory. Not canonically Cody’s actual name, (but it totally is)  
> Shab’la- freaking/fucking  
> Eyayade-echoes, a more respectful term for clones when you are not one of them. (It also means bananas but not this time)  
> Beskar- proprietary Mandalorian metal  
> Be’senaar- missiles  
> Cyare- beloved, sweetheart  
> Ner’cyare- my lover, my sweetheart  
> Aay’han- bittersweet perfect moment of mourning and joy, remembering and celebrating.  
> Kute- underarmor body suit, maybe one piece, maybe two.  
> Kote cuyi kair’ta- Cody is/has/exists as a desperate heart,  
> Ni ceta- I kneel, ultimate apology  
> Burc’ya-friend  
> Cuun’Jetii- our (possessive)Jedi  
> Jii dar’tome, mhi su’solus- now apart, we are still as one. Modeled after the line of Mandalorian wedding vows, “mhi solus dar’tome” meaning we are as one when we are apart.  
> Beskarta- metal heart, the hexagonal symbol seen on pretty much every Mandalorian chestplate  
> Aliit’gai-literally family name, but it can also be sign, sigil, flag, or emblem. 
> 
> Non-Mando’a:  
> Acklay- crab/mantis monster that Obi-Wan Kenobi had to fight when he was chained up on Geonosis. Native to Vendaxa.  
> Vulptex- ice fox native to Crait  
> Varactyl- turquoise climbing lizard Obi-Wan Kenobi rides on Utapau. He’s riding it when order 66 goes out, in the movies.  
> Dewback- thick-skinned reptilian beast of burden native to Tattoine. 
> 
> Dasse, triklonna, cinnallin, and ushral are herbs/fruits I made up. 
> 
> Assari is SW canon, a tree native to Naboo that grew in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. 
> 
> Pauldron-shoulder armor


End file.
